William Freaking Hung

[Delano]

(I know, I know, I lied - this really is the last one)

What do you think of the William Hung "sensation"?

[gyopsy]

1. It's really sick

He's the national joke right now and I don't think he even knows it. :( I feel sorry for him and I think that all of these people out there who enjoy "pretending" they like his music are cruel.

Come on people. There's nothing to like about his music so be honest about it. It's awful. Leave him alone and stop using him for laughs!

[Piperay]

2. I agree

I feel pain when I see him because the poor guy doesn't realize people are laughing AT him, not with him. :(

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

10. "poor guy"?

I don't know if you've noticed this or not yet, but the guy is making a lot of money from this. And there is no way he doesn't know that people don't like his music. Not even Bush is that stupid.

[grannylib]

15. I don't think William is that stupid, but yes, even 'W' IS that stupid.

[Guaranteed]

3. It's pretty sad that the media is willing to "raise someone up"

like that just to be able to make fun of them and tear them down.

[neoteric lefty]

4. hey

his album reached number 34 on the charts so someone likes him I guess. I do feel bad for the guy because when this blows over, he is going to be the butt of a bunch of jokes.

[gyopsy]

6. He already is the butt of jokes

People buy his album and then laugh at how bad it sounds. It's like people who buy Weird Al CDs. Weird Al of course makes funny music on purpose. Poor Hung does not. :(

[bloodyjack]

5. ok, so i might as well live in a cave in afghanistan

but who the heck is William Hung and why does everybody make fun of his singing? is he east asian? aha! then i guess i've got it figured out. immigrants who have tried and failed to assimilate have made people laugh since God gave us the gift of wanton meanness

[gyopsy]

7. His ethnicity has NOTHING to do with it

imho. Although I'm sure the sick bastards who like to mock him certainly think that adds to the fun.

On the current season of the Fox reality show American Idol, William Hung was one of the rejects whom the judges said wasn't even good enough to qualify. In fact, he was so bad (and I mean bad) it was funny and so that's why he got his own record deal.

If you don't know what American Idol is or have never watched it then good for you. I wish I could say the same thing. I honestly do. You're the better person for it. :)

[bloodyjack]

8. i have never watched American Idol

so i guess i have zero pop culture credibility right now :(

[Rationality]

9. Who is William Hung?

He some reject from American Idol? I never watch that crap.

[democracy eh]

11. he may be the flavour of the month

but he is making $$$
he is getting on TV, isn't that why he went on American Idol?

and his career may outlast some of the other idol winners
Justin where are you? Ruben, what happened to your first album? Clay, he is advertized to perform at a county fair in Indiana? (no offence to Indiana). Glorified karaoke is just a bad idea.

as a side note there was an amusing classified in the local paper the other day advising the person on ___ street that if they persisted in blasting the Hung version of 'she-bangs' at all hours they were going to call the cops.

[skippysmom]

12. I wish he'd just GO AWAY

Only in America would we celebrate a no-talent moron.

[liberalpress]

13. Celebrate? We got one as president!

[jmowreader]

14. He's smarter than any of us

William Hung knows he can't sing. He also knows there are dumbasses lined up around the corner to buy his shitty album.

And as long as dumbasses are buying his shitty album, he's making money.

I say we let him do it.

[Deja Q]

33. In *this* society he's smarter than any of us

WHoever said society was right? Hell, it's not even right on the money!

[chenGOD]

16. Personally I love him.

I have never watched American Idol before this season, cause this is the first year we've been able to watch it out here. I saw his audition first time, and I thought he had such a great personality and joie de vivre. He knew he wasn't any good, but he just went for it. And he did it with such spirit, how could you not love the man? The music, yes, godawful. We don't get it blasted everyday over here in South Korea, so that's probably why i haven't become disillusioned with the whole thing.

Also, before anyone flames me in my decision to watch American Idol, it's mostly cause of curiosity and my interest in music in general. There are actually some talented singers making it through there. If they weren't going to be pop singers, with a little training, they would be really good.

[redqueen]

17. Why explain?

I love that show. I enjoy watching the performers improve or not, and I enjoy watching the talentless hacks audition.

What's with the pity for Hung? He's got ears, you know. Plus, he's an adult and is making his own decisions!

I agree with you chenGOD, when I first saw William I thought he was fantastic. Such a great attitude and positive outlook. I wish more people were like him. So many in those auditions seem despondent or upset when the judges trash them -- but he just took it in stride.

IMO this phenomenon isn't just about hype or about buying his music to poke fun at his lack of singing skills -- I think a lot of people think he's a genuine and amazingly uplifting person. William Hung rocks. :)

[Piperay]

23. I watch the show too

and I will make no apologies for it :shrug: gives me an hour or two a week where I can just kick back and relax. :-)

[Touchdown]

18. Somebody on the radio the other day said he was retarded.

Is that true? The host of the show was berating a caller because by listening to this guy, she was making fun of people with birth defects...saying things like crack baby hits it big and stuff like that.

Is he mentally challenged? That would be cruel.:shrug:

[chenGOD]

19. The guy is taking civil engineering.

he doesn't speak perfect English, because he's an immigrant.

That radio host needs to be hit by a big piece of lead pipe.

[redqueen]

20. LOL

Well, he was working on getting his civil engineering degree, so ... no, I don't think so.

I wonder if he's still planning on getting that, now that he's got this to milk for however long...

[Enraged_Ape]

31. He's an Engineering student at Berkeley

He doesn't sound too cognitively impaired to me.

I, frankly, like the guy. He has an enormous amount of chutzpah and enthusiasm that's genuine and inspiring. Anyone can sing really bad, but he sells it, and people buy it by the millions. He's a shining example of how ATTITUDE can get you anything.

[CBHagman]

21. I think they're just mocking him.

That bothers me. As much as I've become addicted to "The Countdown" with Keith Olbermann, I'm uneasy with what they're doing with William Hung.

On the other hand, William Hung does appear to be having a good time, so maybe the joke's on the rest of us.

[SayitAintSo]

27. I'm with you ... I don't like them making fun of him...

But hey ... If he 'gets it' and is having fun ... more power to him.

[Touchdown]

22. They got T-shirts now.

[drumwolf]

24. ...and people say the William Hung phenom isn't based in racism?

Jesus! No one would make a T-shirt with a hook-nosed Jew or a black person eating watermelon and then try to market it to anyone other than white-power types. I guess mocking Asians is still considered acceptable.

William Hung is to Asian-Americans what Stepin Fetchit was to blacks.

:argh:

[TSIAS]

25. Ambivalent

I wouldn't spend $15 on his CD, but I'm glad he's making money. He kind of reminds me of Tiny Tim.

[Deja Q]

26. He's the 2000s equivalent to Tiny Tim

Though Tiny Tim had a better gimmick, wore a costume no less, and played up the part with a certain charm.

Hung's out to dry by comparison.

[Az]

28. WIlliam Hung represents the height of entertainment

as brought to you by the Networks of America. Shoot your freaking TV. Turn it off. Its only draining your brain. You think the advertisers want an intelligent critical thinking audience? They want you remade into placid cows. Pliable to their directions. Open to whatever they sell you. Do yourself the greatest favor you could possibly do. Kill your freaking TV.

[dwckabal]

29. Anyone who knows anything about the record industry

knows that he will more than likely not make dime one. Once the "sensation" has ended, the record companies will have come out on top, and William Hung will go back to whatever it was he was doing before, no richer, probably poorer (if he was signed to a typical recording contract).

[citizen snips]

30. He is funny for a minute and than his singing gets really annoying.

The guy does not realize that he is the laugh of the nation right now.

[Enraged_Ape]

32. I would rather listen to Hung than Spears, n-Sync, and their ilk

At least I know he does his own singing. And frankly I think he's a better role model than any popular singer today.

[mvd]

37. Well..

if they did the same kind of vocal enhancements on CD, Hung sounds worse than those IMO. At least Britney's producers have a bit of savvy in putting together the song arrangements, too.

[Enraged_Ape]

42. I don't think he got the "Britney" production

If Britney didn't have an army of the world's finest audio engineers and producers to fluff her up, I'm sure she'd sound like crap too.

[kodi]

34. a chinese perry como

.

[drumwolf]

36. Perry Como?

Granted, I was born LONG after Perry Como's heyday, but I was under the impression that he was pretty much your typical teen-idol fluff, but at least he was taken relatively seriously as a singer and wasn't seen as a novelty the way Hung is. Am I wrong?

[mvd]

35. I think they are taking advantage of him

And it plays on people's stereotypes. I mean, they are trying to sell the album, as bad as they know it is. Look how it was put up at the full album listening party. And if the Entertainment Weekly reviewer is right, Hung takes his career seriously, too. Of course, the way reviewers are, he might be missing the whole picture. You can tell I'm no fan of music reviewers. :-)

[fujiyama]

38. He's having fun

and making money. I say good for him. I find him kinda amusing, but I wouldn't spend any money on him. You gotta give him credit for keeping a good attitude...It's very possible he knows people are laughin at him.

His level of talent really isn't any less than say, Britney Speares, but then again she can use her sex appeal to sell records. I don't really havea problem with that either (though I find it stupid that little girls are trying to emulate her).

[Cuban_Liberal]

39. He's sorta cute. I wonder what he'd be like in bed?

If he started singing, however, I'd be forced to shoot him...:P

[mvd]

40. He's just so painful to hear that it's not funny IMO

His voice bothers me more than most of the usual suspects..

[Cuban_Liberal]

41. I agree.

But he IS sorta cute.;)

[Enraged_Ape]

43. Supposedly he's built like a Budweiser(TM) Clydesdale.

At least, that's the rumor coming out of the Hollywood music industry.

As evidence of this, please consider that Hung is actually his stage name. His real name is William Krigstien.

[Raenelle]

44. Other--kind of a sweet kid, & what the hell. Let him make some money

[rucky]

45. No, I will not change my avatar

n/t